French police are investigating the deaths of a retired British couple whose bodies were found in their renovated rural home in Aveyron in south-west France.
Andrew Searle, a retired fraud investigator, and his wife Dawn were discovered dead on Thursday at their home in the village of Les Pesquiès, south of Villefranche-de-Rouergue.
According to local media reports, Dawn Searle was found naked outside the property with a serious head wound and jewellery strewn around her.
She was reportedly found by a neighbour who thought she had fainted and called the emergency services.
When police arrived they searched the property and discovered Andrew Searle dead inside.
He was reportedly found hanging with a gag in his mouth. Police say no theories for the motives of the apparent killings are being excluded. Theories include a burglary gone wrong or a possible domestic dispute.
The couple had lived in the village for a decade, and were discovered at about 12.30pm on Thursday.
According to his LinkedIn profile, Andrew Searle retired in 2015 after a career in financial crime prevention.
After quitting as a consultant in financial crime assurance at Barclays in Glasgow, Searle posted that he was “enjoying life in rural France – renovating!”.
He previously worked for 21 years at Standard Life in Edinburgh, where he was responsible for the bank’s anti-crime initiatives across Europe.
A claim made by MailOnline that police are investigating the possibility that the couple were murdered by UK-based criminals has not been confirmed by the French authorities.
Searle went to a grammar school in Steyning, West Sussex and graduated from Liverpool John Moores University.
A spokesperson for the Foreign and Commonwealth Office said: “We are supporting the family of a British couple who died in France and are liaising with the local authorities.”
Article by:Source: Kim Willsher in Paris and Matthew Weaver
